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Niamh Mairi Dunlevy
Niamh Mairi Dunlevy is a civilian character on Issuing Orders. She is the second character of one of IO's newer members, Addie. Niamh is also the first Irish Traveller (or "Pavee", as the Travellers refer to themselves as) to be roleplayed on the board. Character History (See Niamh Dunlevy's official biography here.) Niamh's Travels From December of 1943 to roughly March of 1944, Niamh has become friends with a number of Allied soldiers (and one civilian). One of these soldiers was Nathan Whyte, whom she comforted at an English pub while he was mourning the death of his brother, Jack Whyte. They have not seen each other since spending Christmas Day of 1943 together, although this is bound to change. During that time, Nathan met four of Niamh's previously-mentioned two hundred cousins, the Dunlevys Cillian, Radclyffe, Hiram and Brian. They are the four oldest sons of Niamh's uncle, Daragh Gabriel Dunlevy, and are apparently good singers. Much to Nathan's dislike, they repeatedly wedgied the New Zealander, as well as insulted and played other malicious tricks on him. Most of this was due to Nathan hinting at his love for Niamh in their presence. Earlier in December, Drummer was severely injured after running into a barbed wire fence. He and Niamh were too far away from any town for the horse to get immediate help, and by the time they were close to civilization, Drummer was ill and too weak to stand. Stephen Colly - who's farm was only a kilometre down the road from where the injured horse lay - met a frantic Niamh, and he helped her find a veterinarian for the wounded animal. Even after a minor confrontation with the vet, in which he accused Niamh of being a "lying, thieving Gypsy", the Pavee was invited over to the Colly household to stay for the night. She and Stephen are now friends, with her promising to find his horse, Joey; her father is well-acquainted with the horse market, and with his help, Niamh is slowly tracking down Joey's current location. She has pinpointed the horse's location to somewhere in France. When mid-February rolled around, Niamh would visit her cousin, Rowan O'Hannagain, who was back from the front lines. The two would be seen walking down a lane at night, but they were not out for an evening romp - Stephen Colly was missing from a nearby military hospital. Eventually hearing his cries after searching for him, they found Stephen in a graveyard, the boy-soldier afflicted with shell shock. With some persistence on Niamh's part, she and Rowan would bring Stephen back to Rowan's house, and there, Niamh's Aunt Laura would be introduced. Stephen stayed the night, being made dinner and having his uniform cleaned by Laura, and would meet a dozen of Niamh's cousins in the morning. For the second time in IO history, it would be mentioned that Niamh had two hundred cousins, much to Stephen's shock. In the early weeks of spring, Niamh played host to Lieutenant Terry Scott and a few of his men, who were trying to find their way around in the darkness of the night. Inviting them into her camp (but not before nearly ordering her horse to run them over, the act repeated later when Niamh was called a "Gypsy"), Niamh helped direct them to a town on the nearby Welsh border. They allowed the Pavee to accompany them, and she would even attempt to protect them, ordering Drummer to attack what she thought was a group of invading Germans. Lieutenant Terry, however, hastily explained that Niamh was in the middle of a war exercise, and tried to get Drummer's attention off of the nearby soldiers. Niamh, realizing her mistake, called her horse off, but not before being snapped at by a few unhappy soldiers. During mid-March, Niamh was unfortunate enough to become extremely drunk at a British tavern. This was due to a drinking contest between her and several American Privates, in which Niamh betted her coat and scarf. The Privates would have won if it hadn't been for their commanding officer, Henry Patterson, telling them off and frightening them by smashing a beer bottle. A British Private who had been visting with the Americans attempted to throw a bottle at Patterson's head, but he missed when Patterson's loyal Sergeant, Giles, pushed the Captain out of the way. Things went downhill afterwards, with several unfortunate events happening one after the other, including Niamh vomiting all over Giles's shoes and several other Privates (these ones British) photographing the event. Sometime in late March of 1944, Niamh came across Lief Bielski, a German refugee who had run away from his adoptive family. On the spur of the moment, the woman asked the boy if he would like to join her on her travels. He instantly agreed, and is now Niamh's temporary ward. She is currently attempting to contact Stephen and Nathan, hoping that they could find the young boy's mother, whom Lief claimed "the Nazis took away". Niamh, however, secretly fears that the racism she often suffers under will also affect Lief, since he is of German ethnicity. She is also afraid of being called a "child-stealer", due to the negative image surrounding her people. As of now, Lief is staying with a relative of Niamh's while she works and travels, and Stephen is looking for his mother upon Niamh's request. Finally, another cousin was revealed - Riordan-Emery Dunlevy - who worked as a carpenter. Unable to be a soldier because of an injury that took part of his leg, Riordan-Emery assists in the war effort by repairing wooden items such as wagons. He and Niamh were seen arguing in the thread This Is Wrong, That Is Wrong, the two unable to agree on how to fix a military wagon. A soldier by the name of Ben Shirley entered, and managed to convince Niamh to stop arguing with her cousin so that his work could be finished. Military Service For the next couple of months, Niamh is not heard of. However, a letter seen in her journal reveals her whereabouts: she has been training to be a female volunteer in the British military. Soon after, we see a rather nervous Niamh and an equally nervous Drummer arrive at a French base commanded by a division she can't remember the name of. She is accompanying a group of other volunteers (plus one horse, a Percheron called Winston), assigned to be a field cook at the Allied facility. There, Stephen Colly and her meet again, the Private berating her for a moment before being interrupted by Mac G. Bargett Jr. Not too long afterwards, Niamh would also find Stephen's beloved horse, Joey, and return the stallion to its rightful owner. In November/December of 1944, she would be transferred to an English 3ID base, seen feeding the 3ID's prisoners and meeting Jonas Merhoff. Description Niamh is described as 5'5", with heterochromia affecting her eyes - the left is brown, the right his amber. Her hair is shoulder-length, reddish-brown, and she has a great deal of lower-body strength and leg muscle. Her upper-body strength is also something to note, and Niamh is often covered in a good amount of dirt and hay. She also has been described as smelling of the latter. Personality-wise, Niamh is strong-willed, with a love for freedom and adventure. She is easily irked when people comment rudely on the Pavee race, and can be slightly distrustful at times of strangers. Never one to leave a friend behind, she is an ear and a shoulder when one is needed, and is well-acquainted with the English grapevine. Determined and proud, she's not afraid to stand up for herself and her friends, and considers the entire world as her home. Relationships and Family Niamh shares a close bond with her horse, Drummer - a draft horse of mixed blood, nearly eighteen hands high in height (about six feet), and red bay in colour with tobiano markings. He was once the only friend Niamh knew, and he seems to have an almost human personality at times, often referred to as Niamh's "Horse-Brother". Thanks to special training, he can be lead around without a lead rope, following Niamh wherever she goes, and can also attack on command. The latter trick was demonstrated in the neutral thread The Pavee's Camp. He has also been injured on a couple of ocassions, both of which causing much grief for Niamh. In terms of friends, Niamh has made several. These include Stephen Colly, Nathan Whyte and Lief Bielski. Niamh has also made several acquaintances on her travels, including Terry Scott and Henry Patterson. Bielski was Niamh's charge before he was given to a relative of hers, and she is trying to find his family with the help of her military friends. Nathan's relationship with her, however, goes beyond friendship; unbeknownst to the Pavee, she is now the apple of his eye. The young man fell in love with her almost immediately. Niamh is known for having a large family, claiming to have a staggering two hundred cousins (as mentioned before). Those named include several sons of Daragh Gabriel Dunlevy, such as his four oldest boys - Cillian, Radclyffe, Hiram and Brian. Others include her Uncle Riordan's oldest, Riordan-Emery, her aunt Laura O'Hannagain and Laura's son Rowan, Niamh's deceased uncle Rowan Sr., and Riordan's youngest, twins Aidan-James and Aran. She also mentions having a female cousin, Magdalene "Magpie" O'Hannagain, who is a volunteer. Category:Characters of Issuing Orders